


Falling in Love at a Bar

by MungosBelle



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Future AU, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-03
Updated: 2013-11-15
Packaged: 2017-12-31 08:11:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1029361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MungosBelle/pseuds/MungosBelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eponine works in a bar and discovers a strange group that has decided to almost take up residence there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting Everyone Strangely

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first time I've actually tried to write fanfiction, so if I'm a bit off or don't update regularly, I apologize in advanced. I really hope you like it!

Eponine sat quietly at work for once. She normally was bouncing around and flirting with the bar patrons, shooing them away when they got too flirty or too drunk but it wasn’t her night it seemed. There was a large group of kids her own age had taken over a large portion of the bar and while they weren’t rowdy, they were definitely a bit on the loud side. She didn’t mind though, they seemed like they were having fun. Eponine rested her chin on her hand as she watched the diverse group.

            She could tell they were all tight knit with the way they flowed between conversations, talked over each other and moved around. Between the larger man with the many scars everywhere – she could see herself becoming friends with him; he seemed more her speed – the curly haired ginger he spoke to most frequently and the smaller boy who wore the oversized sweater spouting theory on poetry and how it’s a reflection of society when written. He was only overshadowed by his conversation partner with his bright bow tie and his wild gestures as he spoke loudly, commanding the attention of people as they walked in with his shining laughter and eyes. But even between them, the couple off to the side and the trio cuddled in the one booth the group had commandeered, it was the two who stood at the closest table to her that kept her attention.

            She stared at the blonder of the two and took in his face and how he held himself. His hair was a bit on the long side and was tied up with a piece of ribbon; it looked like it matched the piece threaded through poetry arguer’s auburn braid. He seemed to be arguing with his companion. It didn’t seem angry, perhaps just passionate. The other man just chuckled and patted his friend’s arm and took a sip of his beer. He was the most interesting of the entire lot in her opinion.

            He was tall and lanky, but not in a bad way. She could tell he had some muscle rippling underneath his dress shirt. His hair was shorn on the sides but was a curly mop of a thing on the top. It looked good on him. She saw peaks of what looked like ink at his cuffs. He looked blind as a bat by the thickness of his glasses. Eponine laughed quietly as he was knocked into by one of his friends; the entire group’s noise kept her from being noticed.

 She moved to help another costumer for a moment and when she settled back to where she was, Eponine almost yelped as her brown eyes met green. Pulling back, she gave the guy a strange look. He had a goofy grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye. His bow tie almost blinded her as it caught the light reflecting from the mirror behind her. “Can I help you?” An eyebrow shot towards her hairline as he chuckled loudly.

“Yeah, I saw you checking out my friend.” He cocked his head towards the closest table before reaching out a hand. “Coufeyrac, what’s yours?”

“Eponine. And is there anything I can get you?” She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of a blush, and it was helpful that it was dark in the bar and that her skin was tan. Her fingers tapped against the wood of the bar as she tried to keep her patience.

“Well Eponine, there is. I need you to get him a date. Preferably with you.” The boy laughed loudly again as both of his bartender’s eyebrows sky rocketed. “He’s been watching you just as closely as you’ve been watching him. I think you intrigue him.” Eponine scoffed loudly and shook her head.

“I think you have me pegged wrong, Courfeyrac. I don’t date boys who send their friends over. How do you even know I’m single anyway?” Her eyes flickered up to the door where a boy she actually knew walked in the door and joined the large group. She didn’t know that Grantaire knew them all. She’d have to ask him all about them later. Her gaze slid back to Courfeyrac, who was looking very puppy like in his stance and energy. “I’ll think about it, alright? Geez calm down.” She rolled her eyes and moved to begin cleaning the bar as he bounced back to his friends with a hidden smile.

* * *

 

It was much later and her roommate still wasn’t back. Eponine wasn’t fully worried, but she was anxious to grill him. Grantaire was obviously friends with the interesting menagerie of people that had come into her work space earlier in the evening. Their tiny apartment only held a few furnishings. The kitchen bled into the living room as one space – the very definition of open floor plan. Their bedrooms were tiny but the two were very happy. Eponine’s younger brother frequently crashed on the couch when their parents kicked the kid out for the night (something that happened more often than not). She was almost resigned to sleeping when R walked in.

Eponine flopped down next to him with her face buried in his blankets as the drunken R ran his hand through her hair and his fingers playing with the strands in a very familiar way. His voice was a little rough from the drinks he had had earlier and she could tell he wanted to sleep but Eponine needed to know. She needed to know the group that had invaded her bar tonight. At least their names so she was better prepared in case they ever came back. They went down the list of characters, and really they were characters, slowly and precisely to make sure there was no confusion.

Bahorel was the one she felt the most of a connection to. He was a loud and raucous, but so gentle and sweet to his friends. He liked to get into fights for fun, but would make sure that it was a fair one. He might not be the most well mannered person, but he was in the running for most well meaning.

His most frequent partner in crime was Feuilly. While the red haired hard worker was not as big as Bahorel, he could still hold his own if it came down to it. He was just as poor as Eponine and Grantaire; he once held six jobs at once just to help make ends meet, but had since dropped to just two after getting raises and promotions at them both. He was very kindhearted and would help anyone who needed it with anything if he was able to.

Jehan was interesting, according to Grantaire. He was an interesting dresser, an interesting conversationalist and an interesting enigma. Prone to spouting poetry, yes, but just as ferocious as the next person should any harm come to his friends. He was a wonderful friend to all of them. Eponine noted that she had actually seen Jehan in the apartment, accidentally mistaking him for one of R’s one night stands, with the long auburn hair and slightly feminine features.

Courfeyrac was the next one they discussed. R laughed at Eponine’s groan of discontent. He was a joker, but his heart was in a good place. He was loud and funny and always in the middle of everything. You wanted any information on the group? Go to Courfeyrac. He was easy going and relaxed and sometimes it got him in trouble. Eponine had to agree.

To speak of Marius was to speak of Cosette. The couple hadn’t been together long, but anyone who looked at them knew they were absolutely in love with each other. Marius was slightly clumsy and it had become a game with the others to see how many times they could get him to stumble over things. Cosette was an angel with slight horns holding up her halo. She was the kindest person of the group, going out of her way to help her friends and anyone who needed it. She volunteered whenever she could and always had a few sandwiches in her purse to hand out to the hungry homeless she met on her way around the city. If someone were to try to upset or harm her friends though, that person would be terrified of darling Cosette. She became a terrifying person when angry and one of the only ways to anger her was to mess with her friends.

The trio in the corner booth was a dynamic one does not see in the world. There was Musichetta, the strong and curvy girl who worked as a nurse’s assistant at the nearby hospital. That’s how she met Bossuet and Joly. One night Bossuet had accidentally sliced his hand open while making dinner and Joly couldn’t patch him up at home as normal. Musichetta had checked them in and found the couple to be adorable what with Bossuet’s jokes over his injury and his smile even though he was hurt and with Joly’s fretting and happy responses to his boyfriend’s jokes. It was only by coincidence that Joly was on rounds in Musichetta’s section of the hospital that they saw each other again and the rest was history.

The next person they spoke of was Enjolras, the blond Apollo of Grantaire’s dreams. Eponine stopped him here and scoffed, her head lifting to tell him off about going on about him, she’d heard enough from R himself. None of these people were the one she was interested in. Flopping back to rest her head in her roommate’s lap, she waited for him to describe the last one.

The boy with the cropped and curly hair, her enigma was named Combeferre. He was just as smart as his friends, intrigued by philosophy and had a large amount of patience. A cool fire burned in him but if it was sparked, the person who did so should probably duck and cover. His temper wasn’t like Eponine’s, it was quick and fast burning but over sooner than it started. He was quiet and thoughtful, reserving most of his speeches to their rallies or when a friend needed them the most. Combeferre was still a puzzle for Eponine and she barely kept that to herself as R continued about Enjolras.

The two fell asleep on R’s bed after talking about the entire group until the wee hours of the morning, the two entwined like cats in a tight space.


	2. Strange Goings On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this is so short but that's what happens in college with papers all the time. I will get something out a little quicker this time, I already have a plan.

The next time Eponine worked it was a dull and slow day. She made minimal tips and got hit on by what seemed like a thousand old businessmen who just weren’t her type. It didn’t help that all she could focus on was if Combeferre was single, if he had tattoos, and other random oddities that would randomly come to her while she was washing a glass or getting change for a customer. By the time she was able to close, all she wanted to do was take a shower and relax on the couch before heading to bed. Little did she know R had some other plans.

Those other plans were hosting all of the people she had seen at the bar at their tiny apartment for their civil rights activist group. How he got all of them to fit in the shoebox thing, Eponine would never know; not for lack of trying though, she asked R as often as she could. Walking in muttering under her breath, she took a step back as everyone quieted and looked at her as she tried to process what was going on. Eponine counted all the heads and noticed that everyone was there, including her younger brother.

“What the hell?” The first words out of her are sputtered and confused. One man – Bahorel she thinks – laughs, his head tipping back with the sound. “Did you forget to tell me that we were playing pack in the sardines tonight? Or did you tell me this morning and I just totally forgot?” She brushed some hair back as her roommate just gave her an apologetic smile before explaining.

“We got kicked out of our normal spot because Apollo got into a fight with some guy at the coffee bar over women’s rights.”

“Well he was being misogynistic and making kitchen jokes, I couldn’t let him just continue.” The “blonde angel” spoke while rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. There was a rumble of laughter between the entire group as Eponine finally crossed over into the space she called home.

“As long as you guys aren’t up too late because Gavroche needs to go to school tomorrow,” her sentence was cut by a loud groan from the younger boy as he flopped back against the couch. “And I have work early tomorrow so I’d appreciate it if I got a good amount of sleep tonight.” She was purposefully ignoring Combeferre, who incidentally was sitting in her chair with a book in his lap like he wasn’t even paying attention to the group around him.

Eponine saluted as she walked to go to her room and grabbed some clothing so she could take a shower. Of course there would be someone in the bathroom. This was just how her night was going. She collided with them as they made their way out and she bounced backwards for a moment before checking to see who it was. It was the guy with all the scars – Bahorel, Eponine corrected herself – and all he did was chuckle before excusing himself with a wink and some sort of comment about how all the women just wanted him for his body. She scoffed and rolled her eyes as she went to take a shower.

Once she was out and had a towel on her head, she rejoined the group, budging up her younger brother so she could sit on the couch with her legs folded in front of her. She leaned her elbows on her knees and her head on her hands as she listened to them discuss healthcare and minimum wages and she tried not to scoff quietly every once in a while, but it was clear most of the group had yet to actually try to live on their own with no help. Eponine had started that from the beginning of her teens, trying to make her way in the world and help Gavroche as well. Working two jobs under the table and going to school made it impossible for her to get well enough grades to go to college. Hell, she had to complete her high school degree with a GED. It offended her slightly that Grantaire would even hang out with these people, let alone let them into their apartment so they could continue their misguided notions. It didn’t surprise her to hear him poke holes in their theories, and more than once Combeferre would look at her discreetly as she muttered under her breath about their stupidity and incorrect information.

It was late by the time everyone left and Eponine was wiped out. She was the one to clean up quietly as Gavroche and Grantaire slept in the two bedrooms down the hall. She was going to be nice to her little brother for the night, let him sleep in a real bed while she slept on the couch.


End file.
